[Federal Register Volume 72, Number 8 (Friday, January 12, 2007)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Page 1415]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E7-370]
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Rules and Regulations
Federal Register
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Federal Register / Vol. 72, No. 8 / Friday, January 12, 2007 / Rules
and Regulations
[[Page 1415]]
DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service
7 CFR Part 301
[Docket No. APHIS-2006-0114]
RIN 0579-AC07
Citrus Canker; Quarantine of the State of Florida; Technical
Amendment
AGENCY: Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, USDA.
ACTION: Interim rule; technical amendment.
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SUMMARY: In an interim rule published in the Federal Register on August
1, 2006, we amended the citrus canker regulations to list the entire
State of Florida as a quarantined area for citrus canker and to amend
the requirements for the movement of regulated articles from Florida
now that the eradication of citrus canker in Florida is no longer being
carried out as an objective. We also amended the regulations to allow
regulated articles that would not otherwise be eligible for interstate
movement to be moved to a port for immediate export. In this amendment,
we are clarifying that, if citrus canker is found in any grove during
the preharvest inspection or afterward, fruit from that grove will be
ineligible to move interstate for that entire shipping season.
DATES: Effective Date: January 12, 2007.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Stephen Poe, Senior Operations
Officer, EDP, PPQ, APHIS, 4700 River Road Unit 137, Riverdale, MD
20737-1231; (301) 734-4387.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
The regulations in 7 CFR 301.75-1 through 301.75-14 (referred to
below as the regulations) prohibit or restrict the interstate movement
of regulated articles from and through areas quarantined because of
citrus canker and provide conditions under which regulated fruit may be
moved into, through, and from quarantined areas for packing. These
regulations are promulgated pursuant to the Plant Protection Act (7
U.S.C. 7701 et seq.).
In an interim rule published in the Federal Register on August 1,
2006 (71 FR 43345-43352, Docket No. APHIS-2006-0114), we amended the
regulations to list the entire State of Florida as a quarantined area
for citrus canker and to amend the requirements for the movement of
regulated articles from Florida now that the eradication of citrus
canker in Florida is no longer being carried out as an objective. We
also amended the regulations to allow regulated articles that would not
otherwise be eligible for interstate movement to be moved to a port for
immediate export.
Following publication of the interim rule, it came to our attention
that one of the provisions in the rule did not make clear our
intention. As established by the interim rule, Sec. 301.75-7 spells
out the requirements that must be met in order for regulated fruit to
be moved from a quarantined area. Paragraph (a)(2) of that section
provides that, no more than 30 days before the beginning of harvest,
every tree must be inspected by an inspector and the grove must be
found free of citrus canker. Further, in groves producing limes, every
tree must be inspected by an inspector and the grove must be found free
of citrus canker every 120 days or less thereafter for as long as
harvest continued. Some regulated entities have interpreted these
provisions as allowing for the interstate movement of fruit from groves
with trees showing signs of citrus canker, provided that the affected
trees are removed and the grove is then reinspected prior to harvest
and found free of citrus canker. This interpretation is not consistent
with the intent of these provisions. Rather, these provisions are
intended to only allow the interstate movement of fruit from groves
where citrus canker has not been found during the preharvest inspection
and afterward. Therefore, in order to avoid confusion, we are revising
Sec. 301.75-7(a)(2) to explicitly state that, if citrus canker is
found in a grove when the preharvest inspection is conducted, or at any
other time beginning August 1 of the year in which the fruit is to be
harvested and extending through the harvest season (including into the
next calendar year), fruit from the grove will not be eligible for
interstate movement for the remainder of the harvest season.
List of Subjects in 7 CFR Part 301
Agricultural commodities, Plant diseases and pests, Quarantine,
Reporting and recordkeeping requirements, Transportation.
0
Accordingly, we are amending 7 CFR part 301 as follows:
PART 301--DOMESTIC QUARANTINE NOTICES
0
1. The authority citation for part 301 continues to read as follows:
Authority: 7 U.S.C. 7701-7772 and 7781-7786; 7 CFR 2.22, 2.80,
and 371.3.
Section 301.75-15 issued under Sec. 204, Title II, Public Law
106-113, 113 Stat. 1501A-293; sections 301.75-15 and 301.75-16
issued under Sec. 203, Title II, Public Law 106-224, 114 Stat. 400
(7 U.S.C. 1421 note).
0
2. In Sec. 301.75-7, paragraph (a)(2) is revised to read as follows:
Sec. 301.75-7 Interstate movement of regulated fruit from a
quarantined area.
(a) * * *
(2) No more than 30 days before the beginning of harvest, every
tree was inspected by an inspector and the grove was found free of
citrus canker. Further, in groves producing limes, every tree was
inspected by an inspector and the grove was found free of citrus canker
every 120 days or less thereafter for as long as harvest continued. If
citrus canker is found in a grove when the preharvest inspection is
conducted, or at any other time beginning August 1 of the year in which
the fruit is to be harvested and extending through the harvest season
(including into the next calendar year), fruit from that grove will not
be eligible for interstate movement for the remainder of the harvest
season.
* * * * *
Done in Washington, DC, this 8th day of January 2007.
Kevin Shea,
Acting Administrator, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.
[FR Doc. E7-370 Filed 1-11-07; 8:45 am]
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